Process for treating ores in blast-furnaces



L. P. BASSET. FOR TREAHNG ORES IN BLAST FU MPLlCATlON FILED OCT.

RNACES.

PROCESS Patented Aug. 17, 1920.

H H'or may UNITED LUCIEN PAUL BASSET, 0F PARIS, FRANCE.

PROCESS FOR TREATING ORES IN BLAST-FURNACES.

Application filed October 12,

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LUGIEN PAUL Bassa'r, a citizen of the French Republic, residing at No. 92 Rue de la Victoire, Paris, France, have invented certain new an useful Improvements in Processes for Treatin Ores in Blast-Furnaces, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has for its object to provide an improved process and apparatus for treating in blast furnaces, ores, and more particularly iron ores for the manufacture of cast iron, wrought iron and steel.

The improved apparatus is characterized essentially by the feature and the chemical reactions are effected in a blast furnace containing a charge of ore, and fluxes if necessary, under the action of carbon in a state of very fine subdivision injected at the same time as the air for combustion, into the lower part of the blast furnace, the proportions of the said carbon and the said air being made such that the greater portion 0 the carbon will burn instantaneously so as to roduce only carbon monoxid, and only a raction of the said carbon will escape combustion.

The combustion of the carbon, injected in this manner into the lower part of the blast furnace, has the result:

(1) Of furnishing the heat necessary for maintaining the thermal equilibrium of the blast furnace.

(2) Of supplying the carbon monoxid intended for effecting the reduction of the ore to metallic iron.

The fraction of the carbon that has escaped combustion has the result:

(1) Of reducing the iron oxid that has escaped reduction by the carbon monoxid.

(2) Of effecting by direct reduction the decomposition of the ferruginous slag that is discharged from the blast furnace. his slag is due to the fact that the ore has not been completely reduced during its descent through the blast furnace, and its formation is promoted by the acid character of the flux or gangue present. Further, in the case of the roduction of cast iron, this carbon fraction is intended to reduce the silica to silicon, the oxids of manganese to man Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 17, 1920.

1817. Serial No. 196,274.

ganese, and the phosphates to phosphorus, with the formation of carbon monoxi which acts in addition to the carbon monoxid generated by combustion.

(3) Of carbureting the iron (if the quantity of this carbon is sufficient), for the purpose of producing cast iron or steel.

The proportion of injected carbon is therefore so determined that the portion that burns shall produce by its combustion only carbon monoxid, and the unburned fraction shall be of such quantity as to assure the effecting of the direct reactions which it is desired to produce, and if necessar the carburation of the metal roduced.

he direct reactions as above de nod, and produced by the carbon that is not burned, may be effected by reason of the absence of carbonic acid in the zone of combustion. As a matter of fact, the carbonic acid that may result from the reduction of the iron oxid by means of the carbon monoxid in the lower part of the blast furnace, is immediately decomposed by the carbon injected in excess, and produces carbon monoxid which latter maintains the reducing power of the gases at its maximum intensity and increases the height of the zone of activity of these reducin gases.

Since the liast furnace is fed with fuel at its lower part, it is charged only with ores and the necessar fluxes. The result of this is that the car onic acid due to the reduction of the ore by the carbon monoxid, does not meet any blast furnace, and remains in the form of carbonic acid, whereas in ordinary blast furnaces this carbonic acid by its passage over the carbon at a high temperature contained in the said ordinary blast furnaces, throughout a C{great portion of their height, is decompose into carbon monoxid wit the absorption of heat and a useless conf fuel.

I desired a small quantity of carbon may however be mixed in a desired proportion with the ore for the purpose of assuring the effecting of the direct reactions hereinabove referred to, or any one of said reactions. In such a case the proportion of carbon that is injected into the lower part of the blast furfurther carbon in the nace would be so regulated as to generate solely the heat and the carbon monoxld that are necessary for reducing the ore.

The injection of the carbon into the lower part of the blast furnace allows of obtaining the maximum thermal effect, because under those conditions, the carbon burns practically in its entirety in the air that is injected with it, which air may be previously heated especially if it is desired to roduce refractory cast irons or wrought lIOIl or steel.

By suitably regulating the quantity of carbon and air in ected into the lower part of the blast furnace, it will be possible to obtain the desired temperature in the latter. Further, the reducing power and the carburation in the blast furnace ma be varied by suitably regulating the quantlty of injected carbon, in such a manner that the fraction that does not enter into combustion shall be in a proportion suflicient to effect the desired reduction and carburation.

Accordin to the improved process the iron oxid 0 is reduced b the carbon monoxid according to the fol owing equation:

If, in this formula, the quantities of heat coming into operation, are placed underneath each of the constituent elements as follows:

it will be found that the algebraic sum is +13.4 heat units, that is to say, that the reaction does not require any outside heat. The indicated excess .of carbon monoxid is necessary in order to avoid the inverse reaction.

Since the reaction does not require any outside heat, it will be suflicient that the carbon monoxid and the nitrogen of the air that ma be mixed with it, shall be raised to a sufhciently high temperature, so that the sensible heat of this gaseous mixture shall be suflicient to make up for the losses of heat due to radiation and to being carried off by the gases issuing from the mouth of the furnace, as well as by the cast iron and by the slag.

As hereinbefore stated, the improved process allows of producing at will either wrought iron, or cast iron, or steel, by varying the proportions of air and carbon in by the way a rather low ratio, in such a manner as to obtain either a slight excess of air or a slight excess of carbon.

In the first case the whole of the carbon burns, producing carbon monoxid which reduces the iron oxid to pure iron since there is no free carbon present for carbureting it.

In the second case the carbon in excess which has not been burned, carburets the iron and produces cast iron containing a varying percentage of carbon according to the amount of the excess of carbon injected into the blast furnace.

By suitably determining this excess of carbon, intermediate products, namely, various kinds of steel, may be produced.

In each of these cases the ore may have admixed with it as above stated, a certain quantity of carbon intended to produce direct chemical reactions, such as more particularly the decomposltion of the ferruginous slag in the manufacture of iron.

In order to reduce the combustibility of the carbon that is intended either for carbureting the iron or for producing certain direct reactions such as the reduction of the ferruginous slag, reduction of the silica, etc., there may be employed a hard carbon, such as anthracite, or any other kind of carbon, crushed somewhat more coarsely than the carbon that is intended to produce carbon monoxid. The said carbon being denser than the carbon for combustion, will fall into the crucible art of the furnace and will become mixed with the slag, and thus effect the desired reduction. This carbon intervening directly as a chemical reagent, may be admitted bly an auxiliary distributing device, or else y way of the twyer through which the air and the carbon for combustion are injected into the blast furnace, or by way of a special twyer.-

It is further to be noted that, independently of the saving in carbon effected by the improved process, and of the practicability of making at will either iron, or steel, or cast iron, the present invention allows of achieving an output per cubic meter of the blast furnace which is much greater than the ordinary methods, since the whole of the caacity of the furnace is completely utilized y the chargle of ore, and moreover this output is very igh owin to the instantaneous combustion of the car on that has been injected in a state of extreme subdivision into the blast furnace.

In the accompanying drawings: a

Figure 1 is a vertical section illustrating diagrammatically a blast furnace provided with an improved apparatus for carrying the present invention lnto effect.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a modification of the improved apparatus.

As shown in Fig. 1, a is a twyer, b is the shaft of the blast furnace, c is a duct receiving the discharge of a screw conveyer d which receives its charge from a vessel e containing very finely subdivided carbon (carbon flour).

Compressed air coming from any suitable blower (not shown) is supplied to the twyer which delivers the said air into the lower part of the blast furnace b. As hereinbefore stated the blast furnace 1) contains only the ore to be treated together with the flux, such air may be efiected by the usual means, such as iron oxid F6 0,, or a limestone flux, in as for instance a Cowper stove. Similarly,

suitable proportions. in making gray cast iron it may also be The screw conveyer d is driven at the renecessary to preheat the air before it is 5 quisite speed by any suitable gearing not blown into the furnace. 70 shown). In practice, the carbon employed will be When the furnace has been ignited in any coal crushed to the fineness of flour, and

suitable manner, the conveyer is caused to with or without a certain admixture of coke rotate so as to deliver carbon from the vessel or anthracite dust. In this case, there is 6 into the duct 0 which in its turn delivers produced in addition to carbon monoxid a 75 it into the twyer a, wherein it is uickly certain quantity of hydrogen which posdrawn in by the Strong current of ail w g sesses, like carbon monoxid, a great capacthrough the same. This carbon dust ignites ity for reducing iron oxid; it does not modinstantly on arrival in the blast furnace. ify however in any way the carrying out 0 The proportions of air and carbon thus dethe improved process. Charcoal may also 80 livered into the blast furnace are so deterb m loyed in places where it is abundant. mined that the carbon will produce by its The improved process and apparatus as Com ion 3 n mOIIOXid, W hereinbefore described are equally applicac l' in q ant y o unburned CaI'lQOII W111 ble for refining wrought iron, steel, or cast 20 serve as a chemical reagent as hereinbefore i ith i a cupola f or i ny 35 Stat acid or basic furnace. The possibilit of It is o be understood h t dlagra obtaining a very hot reducing flame al ows mat'm arrangement shown 13 gweh e y y of remelting and refining the metal with a y of example the P 0f t minimum consumption of carbon and withihg the hhderstahdlhg 0 the lhvehtlohout combustion of the metal that is to be 90 practice, the blast furnace may be supplied fi d y a lurahty 0t y i l y some The present invention is likewise appli- OI Whlch are arranged t0 dBIlVeI' the carbon cable to all ores are reducible cardust bon monoxid.

I f Prevent the P11358111? the It is to be understood that the construc- 95 fiowmg 1n the Y from dnvlhg h tional details of the improved apparatus for carbon h hack ihto the h y Slut carrying out the improved process may vary able devlce i hp P 1 P) y he accordin to the various applications. employed for equalizing the ressure in the Wh t l i i vessel 2, the conveyer d, the uct c, and the 1 A process f t ti i li a 100 y a, tohlhfitahce y h h branch blast furnace, in which the carbon used as duct establishing communication between b ti l i j t d i h f f i t y h the t 5 the latter palpable flour in the lower part of the furlhg closed au'tlght- A 51mm means q may nace by superheated air, the carbon being 40 be attached to the vessel 7 used in such proportion that this carbon- 10 The dehvehed y the y twyers dust by reason of its extreme tenuity is ina may be preh stantly and completely burned, producing In the modification shown in Fig. 2, the th i ()Ifly rboni oxid. carbureting carbon is contained in an aux- 2 A process hi h com rises injecting iliary VBSSB]. h, the latter delivers at its carbon in the form of a, fing pgwder and lower end into Screw y? 9' f the also carbon in a coarser form, into the lower other end of which a duct f delivers into the t f an i d i bl t f t twyer a. gether with a blast of air, said blast of air ACCOI'dlDgi) o the degree of c r r ion being in amount sufiicient to convert at least 50 which .18 to e given t0 the 1101'1 01 producthe major part of the finely powdered caring a cast iron or steel, the screw conveyer g bon into carbon monoxid without burning Will be made to r e a a gr I 1888 any considerable amount of the relatively speed so as to supply a larger or less quancoarser carbon so introduced, whereby such tity of carbureting carbon. coarser carbon is enabled to act in the fur- 55 When it is desired to make wrought iron, nace as a carburizing agent. the conveyer g is stopped, and the conveyer 3. A process of treating iron ores for the d alone is allowed to work and it delivers production at will of either wrought iron, only the carbon that is necessary for effect or t el, or cast iron, which comprises ining the reduction of the oxid of iron. jecting the carbon used as fuel in the form 30 For making wrought iron or steel it will of a very finely divided powder. and also inbe necessary to preheat the air blown into jecting carbon used for carburization in the the blast furnace, because the combustion form of a coarser pulveriilent mass. both of of the carbon by means of cold air would not said forms of carbon being introduced with produce a temperature suflicient to melt an air blast of such volume as to burn sub- 66 these metals. The preheating of the said stantially all of the finely powdered carbon to carbon monoxid, but insufficient to also burn any considerable amount of the coarser carbon, and regulating the amount of such finer carbon in such amount as to produce substantially complete reduction in the furnace, and regulating the amount of such coarser carbon according to whether wrought iron, steel or cast iron is to be produced, whereby the coarser carbon unites with the free iron produced with the ro- 10 duction of carbonized iron of the desired carbon content.

In testimony whereof I name to this specification.

LUCIEN PAUL BASSET. \Vitnesses:

E. C. A. REED, FRANCOIS WEBER.

have signed my 

